Delhi Capitals beat Punjab Kings by 17 runs in match no. 64 of IPL 2022. With this win, Delhi are now inching close towards a spot in the playoffs but still they need to win their remaining league game to be assured a spot. For Punjab Kings, it is all but over.
Batting first, the Capitals put up a total of 159 runs on the board. Although their main man David Warner was dismissed for a golden duck, the likes of Sarfaraz Khan and Mitchell Marsh made up for it. Khan, who opened alongside Warner, scored 32 off just 16 balls, hitting five boundaries and a maximum during his stay on the crease. Batting one down, Marsh scored 63 off 48 at a strike rate of over 130. But from there on, wickets fell in quick succession as Delhi eventually managed 159 in their 20 overs.
But their bowlers did a brilliant job to restrict Punjab to 142 in the second innings. Openers Jonny Bairstow and Shikhar Dhawan got good starts but were not able to convert them into long innings. The middle order comprising Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Liam Livingstone and Mayank Agarwal together scored just seven runs. Jitesh Sharma then bought some momentum back into the Punjab team with a knock of 44 but with little contribution from the rest, the side eventually fell short of the target by 17 runs.
Shardul Thakur was the best bowler for Delhi. He picked up four wickets, while Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav chipped in with two each.
